EGFR+ Lung Cancer

A supplemental biologics license application for first-line pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for use in combination with carboplatin/paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) has been granted a priority review by the FDA for the treatment of patients with metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer, regardless of PD-L1 expression.

Immunotherapy may provide an opportunity to change the treatment paradigm of small cell lung cancer as new clinical trials report out in the next year, says Anne Chiang, MD, PhD. Recent results with immunotherapy agents in the second-line setting have already influenced guidelines.

Overall survival and progression-free survival were improved with the combination of frontline atezolizumab with chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, meeting the coprimary endpoints of the phase III IMpower133 trial.

Chromosomal rearrangements involving the gene that encodes the RET tyrosine kinase are known oncogenic drivers in 1% to 2% of patients with non–small cell lung cancer. These RET rearrangements occur with characteristic partners, most commonly KIF5B, but also CCDC6, NCOA, TRIM33, CUX1, KIAA1217, FRMD4A, and KIAA1468.

Considerations for Treating Locally Advanced NSCLC

Consolidation Therapy for Locally Advanced NSCLC

A supplemental biologics license application has been accepted by the FDA seeking approval for the combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab for the frontline treatment of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer with tumor mutational burden  ≥10 mutations per megabase, according to Bristol-Myers Squibb, the manufacturer of both immune checkpoint inhibitors.

The Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research released the first Community Care Cancer in Washington State: Quality and Cost Report to provide transparency for patients and health providers, establishing a more value-based care model.

Osimertinib (Tagrisso) has been approved by The European Commission as a frontline treatment for patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-mutant locally-advanced or metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer. The approval is based on data&nbsp;from the phase III FLAURA trial.

Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, Physician Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Targeted Therapies, discusses&nbsp;genomic rearrangements and the allelic fraction of that genomic rearrangement as a major component of an individual&rsquo;s cancer.

The 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting was a great success, with over 40,000 people in attendance and over 5000 abstracts presented from June 1-5 in Chicago, Illinois. Data from several phase III trials in lung cancer were presented, with especially significant results in non&ndash;small cell lung cancer. Other big areas during this year&rsquo;s meeting included breast, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and hematologic cancers.